This paper will discuss the pros and cons of solar power. Solar power will be discussed in depth in the perspective of the overall worldwide energy and environmental situation. The subject of solar power will be brought up to date by the inclusion of articles written within the past year.
Energy consumption may shift from source to source over time. For example, the United States went from a nation generating most of its heat energy from wood in the nineteenth century to a nation utilizing coal energy in the early twentieth century. Then, the majority of energy consumption shifted to oil in the mid-twentieth century, in part because of the prominence of the internal combustion engine (MacKenzie 1-30). The 1980s are a time when environmental awareness has combined with the search for fossil fuel alternatives (U.S. Dept. of Energy, 1981). The environmental pollution problems associated with fossil fuels like coal and oil and nuclear power have led some to say that the next major energy source will be alternative energy sources like solar, wind and geothermal (Lovins).
Solar cells are favored for power generation because they pose little health hazard and do not pollute the environment. However, the major drawback of solar cells has been lack of cost effectiveness.
In 1980, a kilowatt of coal or nuclear energy cost about 2 1/2 cents, while it cost 31 cents to produce a kilowatt of solar energy. However, the hope for solar cells is that technological innovations and mass production will at some point in time make solar cells competitive with other forms of power. Indeed, major oil companies such as ARCO have bankrolled solar power companies, to be positioned to make the eventual energy transition from oil to solar (Editorial).
Low prices for oil and other forms of energy seem to be the biggest barrier to widespread implementation of solar energy. As early as 1952, the Materials Policy Commission set up by Presiden...